Multi-room entertainment system with in-room media player
First Claim
1. A method of providing media data to any one of a plurality of in-room systems, said method comprising:
- storing a plurality of media data in a central database;
presenting to the in-room system a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected;
upon selection of one of the media data, accessing the selected media data from the central database and transmitting it to the in-room system; and
presenting to the in-room system a purchase menu through which a copy of the selected media data may be purchased.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A plurality of media data, including audio data or audio/video data, are stored in a central database. A plurality of in-room, user interface systems access the media data through a central server. The central server presents to the in-room system a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected. Upon selection of a media data by the user interface, the central server accesses the selected media data from the central database and transmits it to the in-room system. The media data may be transmitted by downloading the data to an intermediate system, playing the media data at the intermediate system and outputting the played media data to the in-room system through a communications line. The media data may also be transmitted by streaming the media data to the in-room system through a communications line. The central server may present to the in-room system any of a number of additional menus including a purchase menu through which the selected media data may be purchased, an activation menu through which communication between the in-room system and the central server may be established for a period of time, a radio menu through which any of a plurality of programmed media-data channels may be accessed and a mood menu through which the brightness of the image displayed on the in-room system video monitor may be affected.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of providing media data to any one of a plurality of in-room systems, said method comprising:
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storing a plurality of media data in a central database;
presenting to the in-room system a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected;
upon selection of one of the media data, accessing the selected media data from the central database and transmitting it to the in-room system; and
presenting to the in-room system a purchase menu through which a copy of the selected media data may be purchased. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
presenting a mood menu through which the brightness level of an image displayed on the video monitor may be selected; and
upon the selection of a brightness level, affecting the brightness of the image independent of any brightness control inherent in the video monitor.
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5. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the media data to the in-room system comprises:
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downloading the media data to an intermediate system;
playing the media data at the intermediate system; and
outputting the played media data to the in-room system through a communications line.
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6. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the media data to the in-room system comprises streaming the media data to the in-room system through a communications line.
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7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing data in the central database indicative of the number of times a media data is selected.
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8. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing data in the central database indicative of the number of times a media data is purchased.
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9. The method of claim 1 further comprising delivering purchased media data to the in-room system.
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10. The method of claim 9 wherein delivering the purchased media data comprises downloading a copy of the media data to the in-room system.
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11. A method of providing media data to any one of a plurality of in-room systems comprising:
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storing a plurality of media data in a central database;
presenting to the in-room system an activation menu by which communication between the central database and the in-room system is established for a fixed period of time;
during the fixed period of time, presenting to the in-room system a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected during the period of time; and
upon selection of one of the media data, accessing the selected media data from the central database and transmitting it to the in-room system;
wherein the in-room system comprises a video monitor and the method further comprises;
presenting a mood menu through which the brightness level of an image displayed on the video monitor may be selected; and
upon the selection of a brightness level, affecting the brightness of the image independent of any brightness control inherent in the video monitor. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of providing media data to one of a plurality of in-room systems comprising:
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storing a plurality of media data in a central database;
programming a plurality of media-data channels, each of the plurality of media-data channels comprising a play list of a select plurality of the media data;
continuously transmitting each of the media-data channels over a different communications channel;
presenting to the in-room system a selection menu through which at least one of the media-data channels may be selected; and
upon selection of one of the media-data channels, connecting the in-room system with the communications channel associated with the selected media-data channel;
wherein programming the plurality of media-data channels comprises;
presenting to a plurality of in-room systems a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected for playing;
storing data in the central database indicative of the number of times a media data is selected; and
periodically updating each media-data channel play list to include that plurality of media data having/a selection number meeting a specified criteria. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of providing media data to any one of a plurality of in-room systems having a video monitor, said method comprising:
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storing a plurality of media data in a central database, presenting through the video monitor a selection menu through which at least one of the media data may be selected;
upon selection of one of the media data, accessing the selected media data from the central database and transmitting it to the in-room system;
presenting a mood menu comprising a brightness menu through which the brightness level of an image displayed on the video monitor may be selected; and
upon the selection of a brightness level, affecting the brightness of the image independent of any brightness control inherent in the video monitor. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification